Means for peeling pineapples

ABSTRACT

Means are provided for peeling and preparing pineapples with a minimum of hand labor and a maximum yield of fruit for canning and other uses.

United States Patent 1 Loveland 51 May 22,1973

MEANS FOR PEELING PINEAPPLES Inven tori Malcblin W: revel and Or in da,

Calif.

Assignee: Atlas Pacifi Engineering Cempany,

Emeryville, Calif.

Filed: Jan. 25, 1971 Appl. No.1 109,324

Related U.S. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 852,251, Aug. 22,1969, Pat. No 3,638,696, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.612,584, Jan. 30, 1967, Pat. No.3,473,588.

U.S. Cl. ..l46/6, 146/43 R Int. Cl. ..A23n 7/00 Field of Search ..146/6,43 R STATION 39 01 43 I [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,00 1 ,5 62 9/1961 Anderson 146/43 R 3,013,595 12/1961 Boyce ..146/43 RI 3,420,284 1/1969 Vadas ..l46/6 Primary Examiner-Willie G. AbercrombieAttorney-Robert H. Eckhoff [57] ABSTRACT Means are provided for peelingand preparing pineapples with a minimum of hand labor and a maximumyield of fruit for canning and other uses.

11 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEU M z- 5,734,002

Mi A L J FLA/Vi PAIENIEW 3,734,002

SHEET 3 HF 7 INVENTOR. MAZCUZM W MVfL/WD PATENTED MAY22|975 SHEET 5 [1F7 INVENTOR. B MALCOLM W LOVfL/IND Arron/Eva Pmemwm I 3; 734,002

I F I E ,1 5 INVENTOR.

MAMA/VI W LOVELANU ATTOKNEYS Pmimmmm 3,734,002

SHEET 7 [IF 7 INVENTOR MALCOLM W [OI HAND BY MEANS FOR FEELINGPINEAPPLES The present application is a division of US. Pat.application, Ser. No. 852,251, filed Aug. 22, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No.3,638,696, which application is a continuation-in-part of my earlierapplication, Ser. No. 612,584, filed Jan. 30, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No.3,473,588.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Heretofore pineapples have been prepared forcanning by making a first cut to remove most of the outside and reducethe pineapple to a preliminary cylindrical size. Before the first cut,either or both of the butt end and the leafy crown end may or may nothave been removed. After the first cut, a second cut is made to removethe woodlike core so that essentially all that remains is a hollowcylinder with the skin and eyes removed to a greater or less extent. Inthe interest of economy, the outer cylindrical cut is made of as large adiameter as possible. As a result, in the great bulk of the fruit, theeyes on the fruit are not removed at each end. This is becausepineapples are ovoidal in shape with eyes extending about three-eighthsinch deep and, if the fruit were cut to the smallest diameter, the wastewould be too great. The machine on which these cylindrical cuttingoperations are performed is well-known in the art and is commonlyreferred to as a GINACA; see US. Pat. Nos. 1,039,926, 1,060,247,1,060,248, 1,060,249, 1,060,250, 1,060,750, 1,065,309, 1,075,031 and1,112,130.

The cutting of the pineapples on a Ginaca is subject to severalobjections. One is that any eyes remaining on the outer surface at bothends must be removed by hand trimming. This is a time consuming and anexpensive operation. Another objection is the loss of good pineapplemeat on the ovoidal shell out from the fruit. Because so many eyes arepresent in any meat extracted from the shell, the only practical use towhich this can be put is to press it to release the juice and recoverthis by filtration. The saleability of the juice is only at a low priceand it moves slowly in the market place. Finally, the Ginaca machine isonly useful on the large fruit.

In accordance with this invention, means are provided for peeling apineapple in such fashion that the maximum amount of the pineapple isrecovered in such form that it can be used as either sliced, chunk orcrushed pineapple suitable for canning and wherein a minimum amount ofthe pineapple ends up in such form that it can be used only for juiceorcattle feed. In one specific concept, the mechanism particularlycontemplates selective peeling of separated areas of the pineapple byspaced peeling devices at different stations such that the spacedcutters can be selectively disposed about the periphery or contour ofthe pineapple to achieve its peeling with the removal of the minimum ofthe skin and eyes and yet to rid the inner meat of the pineapple fromthese, all with a minimum of hand trimming labor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel form ofmechanism for enabling a pineapple to be prepared for canning with themaximum economic utilization of its by-products.

The invention includes other objects and features of advantage some ofwhich, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein thepresent preferred mechanism of this invention is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings accompanying andforming a part of this specification:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a method embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one form of apparatus which can be used incarrying out the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of one form of cutting head whichcould be used in carrying out the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an end view generally on the line 55 of FIG. 4 but showing theblade rotated from the position shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section through the cutting mechanism on the line 6-6 ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pineapple showing one form of aspindle which may be utilized during the peeling operation;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the method of removing thepineapple from the peeling spindle and forcing it onto a coring tube;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the method of cutting the pineapple to sizepreparatory to canning;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing a method of spiral peeling whichforms another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation illustrating a modified form of cuttersupport and its operation at two different peeling stations;

FIG. 12 a view taken along the line 1212 in FIG. 11 showing a typicalarray of cutters at the first station;

FIG. 13 is a view taken along the line 13-13 in FIG. 11 in which therighthand portion of FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view showing one of thecutters and guards operating at the second peeling station;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing in furtherdetail the mechanism for manipulating the cutter and guard in relationto the fruit undergoing peeling;

FIG. 15 is a section taken along the line l5l5 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a view taken along the line 16-16 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating the cutters making the first cut on thefruit;

FIG. 18 is a view showing the cutters making the second cut on thefruit;

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the cutter employed;

FIG. 20 is a side view of the cutter shown in FIG. 19; and

FIG. 21 is another side view of the cutter shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsby reference characters, and particularly to the extreme lefthandrepresenmachine in which centering elements 17 center the pineapple.Pusher element 16 forces the centered fruit upward onto a hollow finnedspindle 19 so that the median plane of the fruit is centered on thespindle. The impalement on the spindle results in an undersize core holebeing cut through the pineapple. Thereafter the pineapple is passedthrough a first zone wherein it is given a first peeling as at 21 andthe primary core is ejected. The first peeling 21 takes off a rough outabout three-sixteenths inch deep, the skin and most of the rough outsideportion of the pineapple being removed with a minimum of the fruit. Thisrough material may have the juice extracted or be used as cattle feed orsent to waste.

At this stage, the pineapple still has part of the indentations of theeyes. The pineapple is then passed through a second zone where it isgiven a second peeling 23 also about three-sixteenths deep. This removessubstantially all the eyes and imperfections, leaving the pineapplesubstantially ready for canning or other further processing. Thepineapple is forced off the coring spindle 19 by presser foot 75 and issent to an inspection station 25. The material removed by the secondpeel is sent to a juicer 20, the juice being recovered and the solidsent to waste or cattle feed. The pineapple is inspected at station 25and, if a small amount of hand trimming is necessary, it may be done atthis station.

The pineapple is now passed to station 27 where it is sized into acylinder and the primary core hole enlarged to full size. The hollowcylinder 31 is subject to further operations such as slicing. The outerannular portion 32 which has been cut off is sent to further operationsfor producing crushed or chunk pineapple, while the hollow cylindricalsecondary core 33 is sent to cattle feed or to waste. This moreadvantageous economic use is possible because the outer annular portion32 is free from imperfections, as contrasted with the annular portionleft after the operation of the Ginaca machine, which portion is onlysuitable for juice or cattle feed. It is believed apparent from theabove generalized description that the method of the present inventionproduces the greatest amount of usable pineapple and the minimum amountof cattle feed and juice and this with a minimum amount of hand labor.

In FIG. 2, there is shown one form of apparatus for performing themethod of the present invention. The machine illustrated has sixspindles which are moved stepwise from one station to the next by asuitable indexing mechanism which is well-known in the art and thereforeis not shown or otherwise described herein. These include a loadingstation 37, a rough peeling station 38 having two peeling locations 39and 41, a finish peeling station 40 having two peeling locations 43 and45, and an unloading station 47. The six spindles 49 are advanced fromone station to the next under control of the indexing mechanism, makingone revolution in each peeling location before moving to the next; thespindles are not rotated at the loading and unloading stations 37 and47.

The spindles 49 depend from a rotating disc or table 51 above a chutestructure 52. The chute structure is divided into three separatecompartments 54A, B and C by the partitions 53 so that each operation iscon ducted in a separate compartment to enable the several by-productsto be kept separate from one another. The partitions 53 having swingingdoors 55 to permit the pineapples to pass from one station to the next.Suitably, the doors 55 may be merely spring loaded and are pushed openby the pineapples as they move from one station to the next or they maybe positively power actuated.

At the loading station 37, a plurality of spring loaded centeringfingers 57 are provided to grasp and center a pineapple which has beenfed by hand or by machine with its core axis vertical. The fingers thenmove in time with the disc 51 from loading station 37 to the stationdesignated 58. At station 58 the pineapple is directly under a spindle49. In position 58, the pineapple is pushed upwardly through fingers 57and is impaled on the spindle 49 until its median plane is substantiallyin the plane of the middle peeling unit 67 as in FIG. 3. Fingers 57 andspindle 49 correspond respectively to the centering elements 17 and thespindle 19 described in the operation set forth in connection with FIG.1.

A suitable form of spindle 49 is shown in enlarged form in FIG. 7. Thespindle comprises a hollow shaft 59 with a series of flutes or fins 61thereon and having a sharpened end 63. As the pineapple is impaled onthe spindle, the sharpened end cuts an undersize primary core which isthereafter ejected in the first peeling compartment 548. The outsidediameter of the flutes 61 is somewhat smaller than the ultimate core ofthe pineapple to be removed in a later operation, so no usable portionof the pineapple is harmed by impalement on the spindle.

After the pineapple has been impaled on a spindle, it is moved throughthe series of stations (clockwise in the embodiment illustrated) by asuitable indexing mechanism. The first of these is station 38 havingpeeling locations 39 and 41 at each of which the pineapple makes onerevolution while undergoing peeling. Locations 39 and 41 are rough skinpeeling locations at which the first rough peeling previously describedis made in two stages. As is shown in FIG. 3, cutter heads 65, 67 and 69operate at station 39 while cutter heads 71 and 72 operate at station41. The cutter structures will be hereinafter described in detail but atthis point it will suffice to say that the three cutter heads 65, 67 and69 make a top, central and bottom cut respectively leaving two bands ofuncut skin while cutter heads 71 and 72 thereafter removed the twotheretofore uncut bands. This initial cut penetrates aboutthree-sixteenths inch and removes substantially all skin and a greaterportion of the eyes. The cut material is collected by the chute 52 andordinarily is used for cattle feed or sent to waste.

After cutting at the two locations 39 and 41, the pineapple passes tostation 43 and then to station 45 where another cut is taken off at eachstage to provide the second finish peeling previously described, againin two stages. The cuts at this station are again made in bands as atthe previous station and as is shown in FIG. 3. This finished cut isalso about three-sixteenths inch deep and, since a considerable amountof flesh is taken on the second cutting, this material can be collectedand used for juice. At this point, the pineapple still has thecharacteristic pineapple shape but is free of all skin and all butunusually deep eyes.

In the above, it has been assumed that two cuts, first one with threecutters and the second with two cutters, would provide both the roughand finish cuts, but it will be apparent that this is for illustrationpurposes only and that other numbers of cutting heads might be employed.Ordinarily five heads would be about a minimum and larger pineapplesmight require more cutting heads for operation at any one time. Also ifthe canner does not wish to keep the material from the rough cut atstations 39 and 41, separate from the finish cut material of stations 43and 45, one cut only can be made at 7 stations 39 and 41.

After the two series of cutting operations, the pineapple then passes tostation 47. The operation at this station may include a furthersecondary coring and in any case the pineapple is finally discharged atthis station. The secondary coring operation is shown in diagrammaticform in FIG. 8. Here the pineapple is shown impaled on the spindle 49and a presser foot 75 is employed to press the pineapple off of thespindle 49. The pineapple may be discharged from the machine or pressedonto a coring tube 77 and thus into the position shown in broken linesto the right of FIG. 8. It will be seen that the end of the coring tube77 has a sharpened end and cuts out a core which is larger in diameterthan the flutes on the spindle 49 and fully encompasses the central corefiber of the fruit. The fully cored and peeled fruit is then moved offthe core tube 77 and the core ejected by a separate mechanism not shown.

The peeled and fully or partially cored fruit is delivered to aninspection station whereat any hand trimming required is provided. Theinspected and trimmed fruit is then passed to a sizing machine,generally designated 79, FIG. 9. The pineapple is placed on and iscarried by a rod 81 which fits in the core hole in the fruit. Pusherelement 82 is slidable on rod 31 and serves to force the fruit into thesharpened cylinder 83 which may be rotating. This cuts the fruit into acylinder which is the size of the can in which the fruit is to bepackaged. If the fruit was not fully cored as it was discharged from thepeeling machine, an internal cylindrical cut can be made simultaneouslywith the external cylindrical cut. Methods for cutting both the externaland internal cylindrical cuts are well-known in the art. In addition,radial blades 85 may be employed to sever the annular portion into twoor more segments for easier handling. The pineapple then passes onto aconveyor 87 to be sliced or otherwise processed.

In FIG. an alternate embodiment of the invention is shown. Here apineapple 89 is held on a rotating spindle 49 and a first cutting head90 is moved through an arc 92 to perform the initial cutting operation.Thus, the pineapple shown at 89A has a spiral cut thereon and has beenpeeled to remove the rough skin. The pineapple then passes to theposition shown at 898 whereupon a second cutting head 94 makes a secondpass through the arc 96 completing the peeling operation, producing thepineapple shown at 89C and which has substantially all of its eyesremoved and which is in substantially the same condition the pineappleprocessed in accordance with the first described embodiment. The peelingheads 90 and 94 may be at separate stations or may be the same headmaking a forward and return cut each about three-sixteenths inch deep.By utilizing two peeling operations at different stations, the cuttingscan be collected separately and used to their greatest economicadvantage.

In FIGS. 4 through 6 and 19 through 21, one of the cutting heads isillustrated. The cutter head has generally been designated 91 andcomprises a body 93 adjustably mounted on a bracket 102 so that the baseof a rotary cutter 119 will be substantially parallel to the tangent tothe outer surface of a pineapple and its cutting edge substantially onthe centerline of the pineapple. Within body 93, sleeve 113 is slidablymounted in bushings 107. A split collar 104, clamped on the end ofsleeve 113, has one or more slots in its outer face. Piston shaft 99engages one of the slots 105 to prevent rotation of the collar and itsattached sleeve 113. The piston and cylinder assembly 97 is suppliedwith a regulated and controlled air pressure to urge the sleeve 113 andshaft assembly toward the fruit with a steady pressure when air pressureis applied. When the air is not applied, spring 101 retracts theassembly from the fruit. The on-off sequence is controlled by anautomatic valve, not shown, which relates the application of air to therevolution of the fruit. By retracting the piston rod 99 from one ofslots 105, the sleeve 113 may be rotated to cause the guard assembly,generally indicated at 115, to advance toward or recede from the end ofthe sleeve 113, thus controlling the depth of cut. Reengagement ofpiston rod 99 and a slot 105 prevents further rotation of sleeve 113.Shaft 109 is mounted for rotation within sleeve 113 on bushings 110. Theshaft 109 is prevented from moving axially within sleeve 113 by collar106 and flange 108. Shaft 109 is rotated by a suitable drive such as aflexible shaft, not illustrated.

The guard assembly 115 is threaded onto sleeve 113 and is prevented fromrotating by pin 117 slidably engaged with body 93. Mounted on shaft 109is cutter 119 which has a series of sawlike teeth 121. Face 120 on thecutter 119 in contact with the fruit is smooth so that it cannot cutinto the fruit axially when it is rotated. The teeth 121 are sharpenedon the face opposite the face 120. In addition to the teeth 121,projections 126 are provided on the opposite side of face 120. The sawteeth sever the fibers of the pineapple and lift a ribbon of peel whilethe projections 126 which are sharpened on their leading edge cut theribbon or peel into segments about one-fourth inch long depending on thespeed of cutter and pineapple rotation.

The cutter described has no end cutting characteristics, being designedto cut only laterally. The bottom face 120 is substantially planar sothat it rests tangentially on the cut surface on the pineapple withoutsignificant penetration. The V-shaped teeth 121, as is shown in FIGS. 5and 19, are shown as sharpened only on their upper faces. Both theleading edge and the trailing edge are shown as sharpened but only theleading edge need be sharpened; so they produce a cut along the tangentline as the pineapple is rotated. When in cutting position, each cutteris positioned so that the roots of the leading teeth are approximatelyat the tangent point to the surface of the fruit. As the pineapplerotates, the V-shaped teeth sever thefibers and lift a layer of skin ormeat to the depth desired. The vertical projections or spurs 126 aresloped rearwardly to provide a selfcleaning action. They are sharpenedon their leading edges and project high enough to always sever the cutlayer into short lengths, approximately one-fourth inch long for easydisposal. The speed of the cutter and of the pineapple is regulated toproduce the desired length of chip. The outer periphery of the spurs 126are formed as a spiral to provide proper cutting clearance as the spursadvance through the ribbon of peeling.

The guard member 115 carries a depth gage 123 which regulates the depthof the cut. The gage includes a foot 131 pivoted at 124 and pressed byspring 132 to engage the fruit. The foot 131 projects forwardly beyondthe path of the cutter. This action can best be seen in FIG. 4. Further,as is shown in FIG. 5, the gage 123 may have wings 125 on either sideand which ride on the uncut portion of the pineapple as is best seen inFIGS. and 6. These wings are particularly valuable when making the firstcut of a series such as at stations 39 and 43. In making the second cut,as at stations 41 and 45, the guard rides over the uncut surface toregulate the depth of cut, as is best seen in FIG. 4.

Although certain specific equipment has been illustrated, it will beunderstood that this is for purposes of illustration only and that manyvariations can be made in the apparatus without departing from thespirit of this invention. For instance, in FIG. 2 it is shown that thecutters are stationary and that the spindles rotate in a fixed positionin front of the stationary cutters. However, it could easily be arrangedso that the cutters would move along from one station to the next withthe spindles 49. This would be particularly valuable in carrying out theembodiment shown in FIG. wherein two spiral cuts can be made with asingle cutter rather than with two cutters as described above. Further,it has been shown in FIG. 2. that two separate stations are used for theinitial peeling cut and two more stations for the finished cut. It isobvious that the entire cutting operation could be done at two stations.Instead of cutting the peeling and the remainder of the eyes in separateoperations, a single out about three-eighths inch deep can be made. Sucha single cut can be made either in bands, as shown in FIG. 3, or as aspiral, as is shown in FIG. 10.

In FIG. 11, I have shown a modified form of device in which each cutter119 can pivot and swivel in such manner that it adapts to and followsclosely the actual contour of the pineapple. This structure includes alever 201 pivoted as at 202 upon a support 203. The lever is a compositestructure including an arm portion 204 upon which a guard and a cutterhead, generally indicated at 206, are mounted. The arm 204 includes arod 207 which extends rotatably through a passage 208 in the swivel 209,the rod 207 being secured in position by collar 211.

The arm is mounted in the swivel 209 so that it may swivel to permit thecutter and guard to adapt to the varying axial contour of the pineapple.The degree of swivel in either direction from a nominal setting islimited by a collar 211 which has an extension 234 which fits betweenears 236 which extends from swivel 209 (FIG. 16). Screws 238 extend fromeach ear to permit adjustment of the extent of swivel movement of thearm portion of lever 201.

Each cutter head includes a toothed cutter 119 mounted on one end of arotatable shaft 213, the latter in turn being connected to a rotatableflexible shaft 214. The shaft 213 is constrained from axial movementwithin the cutter head. A guard 217 is adjustably mounted upon thecutter head by screws 220 and a spacer 225 to control the depth of cutof the cutter. The guard 217 is a composite structure including oppositeoutside guard surfaces 217a and 217b and an upwardly extending centralportion 217s (FIGS. 12 and 17). During the first cut at the firststation (either 39 or 43), the guard surfaces 217a and 2l7b ride on thesurface of the pineapple adjacent to the cutter when the first peelingis effected as is shown in FIGS. 12 and 17. The guard 217 also extendsrearwardly from the cutter for such a distance that it will engage apineapple as this is moved into position for peeling as is shown in FIG.11 by the phantom lines indicating the position occupied by the cutterhead in the absence of a pineapple. The early contact of the incomingpineapple with the guard 217 swivels the cutter head to be tangent withthe axial contour of the pineapple before the cutter is brought intoengagement with the pineapple. The engagement of the cutter with thepineapple is substantially lateral to the cutter axis.

Pressure to hold the cutter head 206 in engagement with the pineapple isachieved by provision of an arm 221 which extends upwardly from theswivel 209 above pivot 202. The arm is moved under the control of twoair cylinder devices, generally indicated M222 and 223. Device 222includes a piston 235 movable in cylinder 226, the piston having a rod227 extending therefrom to engage one side of the arm 221. The pistonchamber 224 is supplied with air under constant but adjustable pressurefrom line 228, the force applied by the air cylinder device 222 beingsuch that a constant but adjustable pressure is applied by the cutter tothe pineapple under the control of regulator 255. The seal between thepiston and cylinder is by means of a convoluted diaphragm 230.

The air cylinder device 223 also includes a chamber 231 in which piston232 is provided, the latter having a piston rod 233 extending therefromto engage the other side of the arm 221. This air cylinder devicestructure is supplied with air from line 236. When the pineapple hasmade one full revolution, a quick acting valve 241 is actuated to supplyair at a pressure, higher than the pressure received by cylinder 222,such that piston rod 233 moves the cutter out of engagement with thepineapple. Thereafter, valve 241 is moved to vent air from the aircylinder device 223 so that air cylinder device 222 becomes effective.Each air cylinder has 21 depending arm 242 carrying adjustable stops 243which limit the travel of arm 221.

As appears in FIGS. 12, 13, 17 and 18, several cutter heads like cutterhead 206 are provided on the support structure described in connectionwith FIG. 11 and wherein (FIG. 11) the several cutters cut spacedannular areas on the fruit at one of the first locations 39 and 43leaving uncut annular areas on the fruit. These uncut areas are latercut by cutters 119 as are shown in FIGS. 13 and 18 at one of the secondlocations 41 and 45. The cutter heads 251, however, include guardsurfaces 252 and 253 on either side which ride on the previously peeledarea so the fruit is peeled to a depth to blend with the first annularcuts.

In the swivel head form of a cutter support shown in FIG. 11, each headcan swivel to adjust its attitude so the cutter is tangent to the axialcontour of the pineapple. At locations 39 or 43 and 41 or 45, the guardsurfaces bear on fruit areas on each side of the path made by thecutter. This provides a greater moment arm to swivel the head into theproper tangent attitude to the fruit. The limitation of the degree ofswivel movement by collar 211, extension 234 and ears 236 (FIG. 16) iseffective to maintain the cutter head in approximately the correctattitude so that the incoming pineapple is able to make the finalcorrection. In addition, should the shape or size of the pineapple besuch that both lateral surfaces of the guards of the outside cutters at10- cations 39 or 43 do not bear on the fruit, as shown in FIG. 17, thenthe swivel limitation prevents the cutter head from swiveling too far.

In the case of the second cut station as at 41 and 45, the guards bearon the previously cut fruit surface and the area to be peeled projectshigher, therefore the portion of the guard between the contrast pointsmust be removed to permit that part to project and be cut by the cutter.The length of the guards is such that the pineapple approaching apeeling station pre-swivels the head so that the attitude of the cutteris correct before the cutter actually engages the fruit as is shown inFIG. 11.

It is preferred to make each end cut and the middle cut on the pineappleduring the first pass (FIG. 17). This provides an opportunity to use thesplit design guards which take their bearing on the fruit from thesurface produced by the preceding cutters and results in a more uniformblending of the adjacent passes. The structure described possesses theadvantage that each cutter follows the contour of the pineapple quiteclosely even though such contour may vary from fruit to fruit. This is afeature of advantage because pineapples vary substantially in shape andsize.

I claim:

1. A rotary cutter comprising: a planar disc supported on an end of ashaft, the disc having a plurality of V-shaped teeth disposed about theperiphery of the disc having at least the leading edge thereof sharpenedto provide a cutting surface, and at least one upstanding spur disposedon a side of the disc substantially normal to the disc and having asharp leading edge.

2. A rotary cutter for peeling fruit comprising a disc supported forrotation on the end of a shaft, said disc having a smooth face oppositethe shaft, to prevent said cutter from cutting axially into the fruit, aplurality of V-shaped teeth disposed about the periphery of the dischaving at least the leading edge thereof sharpened to provide a cuttingsurface, and at least one spur disposed on the face opposite the smoothface and substantially normal to the disc and having a sharp leadingedge sloping rearwardly from direction of rotation and of sufficientheight to cut through the peeling produced by the teeth.

3. A cutter as in claim 1 with a peeling depth control gage surfacedisposed on the leading side of the toothed periphery and closelyadjacent to the toothed periphery.

4. A cutter and gage as inclaim 3, said gage having a surface projectinglaterally beyond the path of the cutter and on each side thereof.

5. A cutter and gage as in claim 4 wherein the gage has a limited springbiased float.

6. A pineapple cutter device comprising an annular disc having a lowerplanar face to ride over the cut surface of a pineapple, a plurality ofV-shaped teeth formed about the periphery of the disc, each of saidteeth having a sharpened leading face sloping upwardly and away from thelower face of the disc and in a direction opposite to the direction ofrotation of said disc.

7. A cutter device as in claim 6 wherein a pair of spurs are provided onopposite sides of the disc extending away from and substantially normalto the lower face of the disc and each having a sharp leading edge.

8. A pineapple cutter structure including a rotary cutter having a lowersubstantially planar face and a plurality of V-shaped teeth thereonformed about the circular periphery of the cutter having at least theleading edge thereof sharpened to provide a cutting surface, meansmounting the cutter for rotation, means supporting the mounting meansfor a limited swivel action to enable the rotary cutter to cut a surfacesubstantially parallel to an axial tangent to the surface of the fruitundergoing peeling, and guard means extending forwardly of the cutter topre-swivel the cutter into a position wherein the lower face of thecutter is substantially parallel to an axial tangent to the surface ofthe fruit.

9. A pineapple cutter as in claim 8 wherein the cutter mounting means ismoved into and out of a position wherein the cutter is in cuttingengagement with a pineapple by a first and by a second cylinder andpiston structure, the first cylinder and piston structure holding thecutter against the pineapple during peeling by the cutter with aregulated degree of pressure, the second cylinder and piston structuremoving the cutter out of peeling engagement with the pineapple uponcompletion of the peeling operation.

10. A cutter assembly comprising a rotary cutter having a substantiallyplanar underface thereon, the cutter being circular and having aplurality of V-shaped teeth about the periphery thereof, an armsupporting the cutter at one end of the arm, the other end of the armbeing mounted for a limited turning movement in a swivel, a guard meansto control the depth of peeling, said guard means being mounted on thearm and having pineapple engaging surfaces extending laterally on bothsides of the path cut by the cutter on the pineapple to engage thepineapple on opposite sides of the cutter to turn the arm and the cutterthereon to engage the pineapple with the planar face of the cuttersubstantially parallel to the axial tangent to the pineapple at thepoint whereat the cutter cuts the pineapple.

11. A pineapple peeler as in claim 10 including a spindle upon which apineapple is impaled with its axis aligned with the axis of the spindleand with its median plane in a predetermined position on the spindle,means for indexing the spindle over a circular path which includes afirst and a second peeling station, and the fruit contacting surfaces oneach guard associated with each cutter are of a length sufficient toengage an impaled pineapple and move the cutter into cutting attitudewith the pineapple as the spindle is moved toward and finally into eachof said stations.

a w a

1. A rotary cutter comprising: a planar disc supported on an end of ashaft, the disc having a plurality of V-shaped teeth disposed about theperiphery of the disc having at least the leading edge thereof sharpenedto provide a cutting surface, and at least one upstanding spur disposedon a side of the disc substantially normal to the disc and having asharp leading edge.
 2. A rotary cutter for peeling fruit comprising adisc supported for rotation on the end of a shaft, said disc having asmooth face opposite the shaft, to prevent said cutter from cuttingaxially into the fruit, a plurality of V-shaped teeth disposed about theperiphery of the disc having at least the leading edge thereof sharpenedto provide a cutting surface, and at least one spur disposed on the faceopposite the smooth face and substantially normal to the disc and havinga sharp leading edge sloping rearwardly from direction of rotation andof sufficient height to cut through the peeling produced by the teeth.3. A cutter as in claim 1 with a peeling depth control gage surfacedisposed on the leading side of the toothed periphery and closelyadjacent to the toothed periphery.
 4. A cutter and gage as in claim 3,said gage having a surface projecting laterally beyond the path of thecutter and on each side thereof.
 5. A cutter and gage as in claim 4wherein the gage has a limited spring biased float.
 6. A pineapplecutter device comprising an annular disc having a lower planar face toride over the cut surface of a pineapple, a plurality of V-shaped teethformed about the periphery of the disc, each of said teeth having asharpened leading face sloping upwardly and away from the lower face ofthe disc and in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation ofsaid disc.
 7. A cutter device as in claim 6 wherein a pair of spurs areprovided on opposite sides of the disc extending away from andsubstantially normal to the lower face of the disc and each having asharp leading edge.
 8. A pineapple cutter structure including a rotarycutter having a lower substantially planar face and a plurality ofV-shaped teeth thereon formed about the circular periphery of the cutterhaving at least the leading edge thereof sharpened to provide a cuttingsurface, means mounting the cutter for rotation, means supporting themounting means for a limited swivel action to enable the rotary cutterto cut a surface substantially parallel to an axial tangent to thesurface of the fruit undergoing peeling, and guard means extendingforwardly of the cutter to pre-swivel the cutter into a position whereinthe lower face of the cutter is substantially parallel to an axialtangent to the surface of the fruit.
 9. A pineapple cutter as in claim 8wherein the cutter mounting means is moved into and out of a positionwherein the cutter is in cutting engagement with a pineapple by a firstand by a second cylinder and piston structure, the first cylinder andpiston structure holding the cutter against the pineapple during peelingby the cutter with a regulated degree of pressure, the second cylinderand piston structure moving the cutter out of peeling engagement withthe pineapple upon completion of the peeling operation.
 10. A cutterassembly comprising a rotary cutter having a substantially planarunderface thereon, the cutter being circular and having a plurality ofV-shaped teeth about the periphery thereof, an arm supporting the cutterat one end of the arm, the other end of the arm being mounted for alimited turning movement in a swivel, a guard means to control the depthof peeling, said guard means being mounted on the arm and havingpineapple engaging surfaces extending laterally on both sides of thepath cut by the cutter on the pineapple to engage the pineapple onopposite sides of the cutter to turn the arm and the cutter thereon toengage the pineapple with the planar face of the cutter substantiallyparallel to the axial tangent to the pineapple at the point whereat thecutter cuts the pineapple.
 11. A pineapple peeler as in claim 10including a spindle upon which a pineapple is impaled with its axisaligned with the axis of the spindle and with its median plane in apredetermined position on the spindle, means for indexing the spindleover a circular path which includes a first and a second peelingstation, and the fruit contacting surfaces on each guard associated witheach cutter are of a length sufficient to engage an impaled pineappleand move the cutter into cutting attitude with the pineapple as thespindle is moved toward and finally into each of said stations.